John J. Mescall

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John J. Mescall (1899-1962) was an American cinematographer. He photographed such silent films as Ernst Lubitsch's The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927), but he is best known for his work in the 1930s at Universal Pictures, where he often worked on the films of James Whale. Mescall was famous for his elaborate (some might say grandiose), effective camera movements, in which the camera would often track completely across or around a set, or even one performer (as it does during Paul Robeson's singing of Ol' Man River in the 1936 version of Show Boat (film)).

[edit] Best known achievements

Mescall's greatest achievements in film are considered to be the 1936 Show Boat, and Bride of Frankenstein, in which his use of wild camera angles added greatly to the "Creation of the Bride" scene. Both of these films were directed by James Whale. Mescall also did uncredited work on Whale's version of The Invisible Man (1933 film).

Mescall also filmed The Road Back in 1937 for Whale, which was the ill-fated sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front. Though visually interesting, the filmed bombed at the box-office in part due to a well-publicized editing dispute between Whale and Universal executives. That film's stellar cast included Noah Beery Jr. and Richard Cromwell.

[edit] Later work

Unfortunately, after about 1940, Mescall's career was limited to working in a series of forgettable films. He did receive an Academy Award nomination, oddly enough, not for his work on the Universal classics (which also included such films as Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934 film)), but for his lensing of the semi-forgotten 1942 romantic comedy Take a Letter, Darling, starring Fred MacMurray and Rosalind Russell.